Kaj Grönberg - words of remembrance
Kaj Grönberg, the "father" of the Rumpnissers, left us on July 9, 2026.
We think of his life's work and what he has done for Swedish film. How he, in collaboration with Per Åhlin, Tage Danielsson and Astrid Lindgren, created the Rumpnissarna that everyone knows and loves. We think of his loved ones and offer our thoughts with great gratitude for what he created.
Filmbyn Småland had a great meeting and a unique opportunity in 2024-2025, when the environment from the film Ronja Rövardotter was to be built.
It was thought about and sketched together with a company in Vimmerby, T-Line and Thomas Karlsson. Soon the choice fell on Ronja's meeting with the Rumpnissarna in the forest - when Ronja accidentally drops her ski during her ski trip and steps through the snow and loses one of her boots. It would turn out that she had stepped right into the Rumpnissarna's nest.
Contact was made with Kaj Grönberg, the person who shaped Rumpnissen from the very beginning.
It was a fantastic meeting!
Kaj and Thomas found each other and together they formed Filmbyn's new attraction.
Kaj would manufacture the Rumpnissarna and T-Line would build the environment.
As a sequence from the film Ronja Rövardotter, Thomas made the Rumpnissarna "alive" and Kaj followed the work with great interest.
The two creators had eager and frequent phone calls about how everything would develop and be presented.
On May 1, 2025, "When the Rumpnissarna meet Ronja" was inaugurated in Filmbyn Småland and then Kaj Grönberg gave a speech and talked about how the Rumpnissarna were created, etc. This environment has become a very popular feature in the film museum.
Kaj Grönberg, who was ill at the time, died on July 9, 2026.
He was able to help revive his beloved Rumpnissar through the collaboration with Filmbyn Småland.
The film village received another irreplaceable memory when Kaj also donated a large photo collection with documentation from the first filming of Ronja Rövardotter and an original script by Tage Danielsson.
A treasure to preserve and show to posterity.
Kaj Grönberg's last Rumpnissar will now live on with us in Filmbyn Småland.
Thank you!
If you want to read and write, there is a link to Kaj Grönberg's memorial page here:
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